Could Nats have contenders for awards in 2025?

It’s awards season around baseball as the offseason continues. Major League Baseball handed out several individual awards and named the All-MLB teams on Thursday. And the Baseball Writers' Association of America announced the finalists for its major awards this past week, with the winners to be announced over the next four days.

Unsurprisingly, the Nationals were shut out from bringing home any hardware. And it’s been a while since any has come Washington's way. But looking ahead, could the Nats have any contenders in 2025?

Note: This is only taking players currently in the organization under consideration. Of course, there could be other candidates added to the mix this offseason.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Last finalist: Juan Soto (2021)
Last winner: Bryce Harper (2015)

The biggest award of the year is probably the biggest stretch for any Nationals player. The Nats as a team would have to take a big leap forward with one of their budding stars leading the way, or have one of those stars have an unbelievable season on his own.

Those two things may actually go hand-in-hand, but I digress …

The Nats have three young players that do have MVP potential in CJ Abrams, James Wood and Dylan Crews.

Abrams has shown he has the ability to put up MVP-type numbers over stretches, but he has yet to do so over the course of a full season.

Wood is coming off his rookie season, but showed he has all the tools that can make him one of the best players in the league. If he taps into his power potential to get his home run total and OPS up while also improving his defensive metrics, he may be the Nats’ best shot as an MVP candidate.

Crews has all of the tools to be one as well. But a lot of projections have the Nats’ top prospect being more of an All-Star-level player instead of an MVP-level one. That’s not a bad consolation prize. He will still have rookie status next season, but don’t be surprised if he plays himself into MVP conversations in the years to come.

CY YOUNG AWARD
Last finalist: Max Scherzer (2019)
Last winner: Max Scherzer (2017)

The Nats could see an immediate contender for the league’s best pitcher depending on what they do this offseason. All signs point to general manager Mike Rizzo adding to the young rotation, with many anticipating a front-line starter that can lead the young hurlers both on the mound and in the clubhouse.

As for those young hurlers already in said clubhouse, MacKenzie Gore is the obvious candidate. Although the southpaw had a tough middle of the season, he bookended it with two very impressive stretches at the beginning and end.

Gore had a 2.91 ERA with 11 strikeouts per nine innings through his first 11 starts. Then he posted a 1.55 ERA and 0.910 WHIP over his final seven starts. When it was all said and done, he had the best ERA by any Nationals pitcher who made at least 20 starts, and the most strikeouts since 2019.

If Gore can put his eclectic stuff together for a full season, he has the potential to be the Nats’ best pitcher since Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg.

Jake Irvin also showed Cy Young potential with an incredible first half of the season. Over his first 18 starts, he posted a 2.80 ERA and 1.000 WHIP with 12 quality starts. He was also flat-out dominant at times, with zero or one run allowed and eight or more strikeouts recorded with two or fewer walks issued three times. The pinnacle was his amazing performance against the Mets on July 4 with eight shutout innings of one-hit ball and eight strikeouts.

In just his second full major league season, Irvin ran out of gas in the second half. But like Gore, if he can harness what makes him successful over a full season, he could find himself in conversations for some hardware.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Last finalist: Juan Soto (2018)
Last winner: Bryce Harper (2012)

Unfortunately, Wood exceeded his rookie limits this year with 295 at-bats and three months on the active major league roster. Otherwise, he would be an obvious favorite to win the award next year. (Although he wasn’t a finalist, it will be interesting to see if he received any votes this year.)

That leaves Crews as the next obvious choice. He’ll retain his rookie eligibility after only making 119 at-bats and spending just the last five weeks on the big league roster. He’ll likely make the Opening Day roster and have a full season to show all of the tools that make him one of the sport’s top prospects.

Two of the three finalists in the National League this year made their team’s Opening Day rosters. And since the pool for this award is smaller than others, sometimes it’s about how much you play rather than what you do in a short amount of time.

If what he flashed in 31 games is any indication, Crews should be a favorite for this award in 2025.

Rookie of the Year is also subject to dark horses every now and then. Brady House and Robert Hassell III are expected to make their major league debuts in 2025. And don’t forget about Cade Cavalli, who is expected to be a part of the Nats rotation next year and still holds rookie status after making his major league debut two years ago and not pitching in the majors since due to injury.

MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Last finalist: Dusty Baker (2016)
Last winner: Matt Williams (2014)

You may be surprised to see Davey Martinez wasn’t a finalist in 2019 despite taking a team that started the season 19-31 to the postseason. (Remember: Ballots are cast before the playoffs start, so winning the World Series was not a factor.) Though he received votes, he finished fifth and didn’t crack the top three. Meanwhile, Carlos Mendoza is a finalist this year after digging the Mets out of a similar hole.

It also may be surprising to see Dusty Baker wasn’t a finalist in 2017 after leading the Nats to two more victories than the previous year, when he did finish in the top three.

But I digress again …

Although Manager of the Year is sometimes the most forgotten award, it may be the hardest to vote on because there is only one stat to consider: The team’s record.

Some voters take a team’s talent level into consideration as well. For example, Dave Roberts may never win another Manager of the Year award because his team is always loaded with MVP, Cy Young and Rookie of the Year candidates.

But Martinez has a good shot in 2025 to at least be in consideration. If the Nats take a big step forward and qualify for the postseason, as many within the organization (including the skipper himself) think they can, voters will have no choice but to consider him for taking a young team that has suffered over the last five seasons and turning them into contenders.

Martinez has spent a lot of his time over the past couple of years developing relationships and coaching up his young players. They all think he’s the perfect leader for this young team. It could finally come to fruition in 2025.